Vatsa or Vamsa (

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhi ...

and

Ardhamagadhi Ardhamagadhi Prakrit was a Middle Indo-Aryan language and a Dramatic Prakrit thought to have been spoken in modern-day Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and used in some early Buddhist and Jain drama. It was likely a Central Indo-Aryan language, related t ...

: , literally "calf") was one of the sixteen

Mahajanapadas The Mahājanapadas ( sa, great realm, from ''maha'', "great", and '' janapada'' "foothold of a people") were sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE during the second ur ...

(great kingdoms) of

Uttarapatha Ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts use Uttarapatha as the name of the Northern part of Jambudvipa (equivalent of present-day North India), one of the " continents" in Hindu history. In modern times, the Sanskrit word ''uttarapatha'' is sometimes u ...

of ancient India mentioned in the

Aṅguttara Nikāya The Anguttara Nikaya ('; , also translated "Gradual Collection" or "Numerical Discourses") is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pali ...

Location

The territory of Vatsa was located to the south of the Gaṅgā river, and its capital was the city of or , on the Yamunā river and corresponding to the modern-day location of Kosam.

History

The early period

The Vatsas were a branch of the

Kuru dynasty Kuru (Sanskrit: ) was a Vedic Indo-Aryan tribal union in northern Iron Age India, encompassing parts of the modern-day states of Haryana, Delhi, and some parts of western Uttar Pradesh, which appeared in the Middle Vedic period (c. 1200 – c. ...

. During the Rig Vedic period, the Kuru Kingdom comprised the area of Haryana/ Delhi and the Ganga-Jamuna Doab, till Prayag/ Kaushambi, with its capital at

Hastinapur Hastinapur is a city in the Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ''Hastinapura'', described in Hindu texts such as the ''Mahabharata'' and the Puranas as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom, is also mentioned in ancient Jain texts. ...

. During the late-Vedic period, Hastinapur was destroyed by floods, and the Kuru King shifted his capital with the entire subjects to a newly constructed capital that was called

Kosambi Kosambi (Pali) or Kaushambi ( Sanskrit) was an important city in ancient India. It was the capital of the Vatsa kingdom, one of the sixteen mahajanapadas. It was located on the Yamuna River about southwest of its confluence with the Ganges ...

or Kaushambi. In the post Vedic period, when Arya Varta consisted of several Mahajanpads, the Kuru Dynasty was split between Kurus and Vatsas. The Kurus controlled the Haryana/ Delhi/ Upper Doab, while the Vatsas controlled the Lower Doab. Later, The Vatsas were further divided into two branches—One at

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the to ...

, and the other at Kaushambi. The Puranas state that after the washing away of Hastinapura by the Ganges, the king , the great-great grandson of

Janamejaya Janamejaya ( sa, जनमेजय) was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period. Along with his father and predecessor Parikshit, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, the arrangement of Vedic hymns ...

, abandoned the city and settled in . This is supported by the and the attributed to . Both of them have described the king Udayana as a

scion Scion may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities *Scion, a playable class in the game ''Path of Exile'' (2013) *Atlantean Scion, a device in the ''Tomb Raider'' video game series *Scions, an alien race in the video game '' B ...

of the family (). The Puranas provide a list of ’s successors which ends with king . Other Puranas state that the Vatsa kingdom was named after a king, Vatsa. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata attribute the credit of founding its capital to a Chedi prince or .

Mahajanapada period

The first ruler of the dynasty of Vatsa, about whom some definite information available is II, Parantapa. While the Puranas state his father’s name was , tells it was . II married a princess of Videha, who was the mother of Udayana. He also married , a daughter of the Licchavi chieftain .Mahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007). ''Ancient India'', S.Chand & Company, New Delhi, , pp.171-2 He attacked , the capital of during the rule of . The wife of Śatānīka and the mother of

Udayana Udayana, (Devanagari: उदयन) also known as Udayanācārya (Udyanacharya, or Master Udayana), (circa 975 - 1050 CE) was an Indian philosopher and logician of the tenth century of the Nyaya school who attempted to devise a rational theol ...

was Queen Mṛgāvatī (in Sanskrit) or Migāvatī (in Prakrit). She was the daughter of

Chetaka Chetaka (Sanskrit: ) or Chedaga (Sanskrit: ) was the consul of the Licchavi tribe during the 5th century BCE. Life Ceṭaka was the son of Keka and Yaśomatī, he belonged to the Haihaya clan, and he had a sister named Trisalā. Ceḍa ...

, the leader of Vaishali. It is recorded that she ruled as a regent for her son for some period of time, although sources differ about the specific circumstances. According to the

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

canonical texts, Udayana was still a minor when Śatānīka died, so "the responsibility of governing the kingdom fell on the shoulders of queen Migāvatī ... till her son grew old enough". On the other hand,

Bhāsa Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit, predating Kalidasa. His name was already well-known by the 1st century BCE and he belongs to the late-Mauryan (322-184 BCE) period at the earliest, but the thirt ...

's '' Pratijñāyaugandharāyaṇa'' says that she took "full charge of the administration" while Udayana was held as a prisoner by King

Pradyota Pradyota dynasty, also called ''Prthivim Bhoksyanti'' (lit. enjoying the earth), is an ancient Indian dynasty, which ruled over Avanti and Magadha, though most of the Puranas ''(except a manuscript of the Brahmanda Purana, preserved in the Uni ...

of Avanti, and "the way in which she discharged her duties excited the admiration of even experienced ministers". Mrigavati, is notable for being one of the earliest known female rulers in Indian history. Udayana, the son of II by the Videha princess succeeded him. Udayana, the romantic hero of the , the and many other legends was a contemporary of Buddha and of Pradyota, the king of Avanti. The contains a long account of his conquests. The narrates the event of his victory over the ruler of and restoration of to the throne of . The commentary on the Dhammapada describes the story of his marriage with or , the daughter of Pradyota, the king of Avanti. It also mentions about his two other consorts, , daughter of a Kuru Brahmin and , the adopted daughter of the treasurer Ghosaka. The refers to a peasant girl who became his wife. The of mentions about another queen named , a sister of king of Magadha. The tells us about the marriage of Udayana with , the daughter of , the king of . The narrates a story of romance between him and , an attendant of his chief queen, . The name of his son by his chief queen is Bodhi. The Buddha visited Kauśāmbī several times during the reign of Udayana on his effort to spread the dharma, the

Eightfold Path The Noble Eightfold Path (Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana. The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: r ...

and the

Four Noble Truths In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones". Four Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Encycl ...

. Udayana was an Upasaka (lay follower) of Buddha. The Chinese translation of the Buddhist canonical text states that the first image of Buddha, curved out of sandalwood was made under the instruction of Udayana.

Later history

According to the Puranas, the 4 successors of Udayana were , , Niramitra and . Later, the Vatsa kingdom was annexed by the Avanti kingdom. Maniprabha, the great-grandson of Pradyota ruled at as a prince of Avanti. Vatsa was ultimately annexed into Magadha by Shishunaga.

References

Citations

Sources

* {{Mahajanapada , state=collapsed Kingdoms of the Puru clan Mahajanapadas Former kingdoms